


Here's a Headline

by fairiesandtea



Category: Newsies (1992), Newsies - All Media Types, Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: :)), M/M, Modern AU, please enjoy, written for someone on tumblr lmao but i'm really proud of it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-17
Updated: 2017-03-17
Packaged: 2018-10-06 09:56:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,807
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10332062
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fairiesandtea/pseuds/fairiesandtea
Summary: Mayer Jacobs liked having a newspaper in his hand, no matter how many times Davey and Sarah told him it was on the internet and buying one killed a tree.





	

It was one of those summer days that made everything seem insignificant. It was hot, hot enough to make Davey flee the constraints of his room. Since he shared with Les, it felt too constricting to sit and listen to another story about cowboys and the wild west. Sarah was already starting her homework for next year, and kept spouting facts about the moon. Davey wrinkled his nose thinking about the pile of homework that sat on his desk, waiting to be started. Choosing to neglect his duties, Davey chose to take a walk down to the farmer’s market for his mother. It was just as stifling outside, but a thin breeze blew between all the people that crowded the sidewalk. He pushed his way through the crowd, realizing that this was not the greatest choice he could’ve made, relieved to see the big signs advertising fresh fruit and baked goods.

He grabbed a basket and checked his phone for the list again. Apples, broccoli, chicken stock, and the daily paper. As much as Sarah and Davey had tried to convince their father that all of the news was online, and buying a newspaper was unnecessarily killing trees, Mayer insisted on having the real thing, right there. Davey grabbed everything and headed over to the small newspaper stand, carrying all the big names. A boy was leaning against the post, reading the _New York Times_ , with a bloody and fascinating title. Davey went to pick one up, and the boy lowered the paper as he watched Davey grab it. He felt the the boy’s eyes rake across his body, and ignored him as he opened to the Arts & Leisure section. “Well extra, extra.” He heard, the boy’s Manhattan accent thick. “I’m gay and you’re cute.” Davey smiled slightly, folding the paper.

“Extra, extra. Yeah I’m cute, duh.” Davey walked on past the boy to pay for his items. Maybe the trip wasn’t useless after all. 

&&&

“I was in the middle of the Battle of Hogwarts!! Molly Weasley was about to say bitch! You can’t just take me away from that!” Sarah rolled her eyes as she tugged on his arm, sending his whole body out of the door frame. Davey huffed, picking himself up off the floor. Sarah had demanded that he come out of his room and ‘socialize,’ even though there was no one to talk to in the middle of July. Her girlfriend Kath was out of town, Davey’s friends Mush and Blink would rather suck face then talk face-to-face, and everyone else made Davey feel like he was losing braincells the more they opened their mouths. But Davey knew that Sarah couldn’t stay in the house for too long, or else she would go crazy. So he reluctantly followed her out the door, complaining the whole way.

“Where are we even going?” He asked, still annoyed.

“Anywhere the winds blows us!” She sighed, twirling in the wind. Sarah’s soft pink skirt puffed in the wind, her hair streaking around her. Davey gritted his teeth, plodding along behind her. They kept walking until they ended up at the farmer’s market, in front of the lemonade stand. Sarah pulled a five out of her pocket and paid the man for two drinks that looked pink and fizzy, but tasted surprisingly good. They walked around for a while when Sarah saw the newspaper stand.

Pulling Davey’s arm in a direction he did not want to go for the second time that day, Sarah led him over and picked up a _Tribune_. Davey read the title until a voice jarred him into looking up. “Extra, extra. Does cute boy have a band-aid?” Sarah opened her mouth, confused, but Davey raised his hand to silence her.

“Why?” He said, smiling.

“‘Cause I think I scraped my knee falling for you.” The boy winked at him, and Sarah’s mouth fell open. 

Davey grabbed Sarah’s arm and dragged her away from the stand. “Well, good luck with that!” He called over his shoulder.

“Care to explain what the hell just happened?” Sarah asked, disbelief etched in her words. Davey smiled, a dreamy look in his eye. 

“It was the wind.” 

&&& Mayer had forgotten to get his paper coming home from work. “Damn!” He said, sitting on the couch, good-naturedly. Esther swat at him with the packet of papers she was filling out.

“Not in front of Les, Mayer.” Les grinned at him from the other couch, a ring of blue encircling his mouth from the popsicle he had earlier. Davey giggled, and returned to the english homework that was sitting on his lap.

“Any of my lovely children want to go and get one?” Mayer jokingly asked.

“Me!” Davey said, shooting up, dropping all of his books and papers and sending them to the floor. There was an embarrassing silence as everyone’s eyes watched a slow piece of notebook paper drift to the floor. Esther raised an eyebrow, clearly confused.

“I- I’m just passionate about world politics!” He said, nodding his head. 

Sarah laughed, getting up from the kitchen table. “And that newsboy’s ass.” She said, leaving the room before her mother could lecture her. Esther sighed and shook her head, returning to the paperwork she was doing. Davey picked up his papers, putting them on the couch. 

He walked quickly out the door before anyone could question him. “I’ll get it!” He called, shutting the door. Davey looked at the sidewalk, and walked down the stairs in the direction of the farmer’s market. He got there in record time, slightly out of breath. He saw the boy and smiled to himself. _Sarah wasn’t wrong. He has a fantastic ass._ As he picked up a _Post_ , the boy laughed. 

“Extra, extra. You can stare at this ass all day long.” Davey’s eyes widened in horror as realized what he’d said out loud. He stuttered for a second before dropping the paper and walking away as fast as he could. 

Mayer was confused and slightly angry when Davey returned with nothing but red cheeks and a story to tell Sarah.

&&&

“Please take Les out of my hands. This report is due tomorrow, and I’ve barely started. Please oh _please_?” Davey stared at his mom, not wanting to get up from the spot on his couch. He had finally found a comfortable position to read in, and he knew how rare it was to find one. Esther sighed, running her fingers through her hair. “I’ll give you twenty bucks to go get ice cream. Please?” 

Davey reluctantly peeled himself off the couch and set his book down. She smiled tiredly, and he smiled back. He walked down the hallway and reached his mom’s office, where Les was creating necklaces out of paper clips and singing musical theatre songs at the top of his lungs. “AIN’T IT A FINE LIFE, CARRYIN’ T-” 

“Les!” The younger brother stopped, looking at Davey like he had ruined a Moment. “Let’s go get ice cream, yeah?” Les’s eyes lit up as he shot to his feet, and Davey doubted the idea of giving him sugar for a second. “Get some shoes on and we’ll go.” As Les left the room, Davey grabbed his arm. “And no Newsies on the way there, please. It’s so overrated.”

Les’s face look offended, and he pushed Davey out of the way. “You’re overrated!” He yelled, leaving Davey to roll his eyes.

\---

The summer heat was too much for Davey, not to mention the fact that it did nothing to subdude Les’s energy. By the time they both had ice cream, Les was practically bouncing off the walls. He had learned to tune Les out, so he was walking along and being pulled of his sugar haze every once and while to stop Les from breaking something or talking to a stranger. Because of this, he didn’t notice where they were going until they were there, in front of the newsstand.

“Oh- Les- Let’s go… look… at that thing over there!” Les pulled his arm out of Davey’s grasp, picking up a random paper. 

“Let’s get dad his paper now!” Davey sighed and picked up a paper, trying to cover his face with it. The boy cocked an eyebrow, amused at Davey’s lame attempt at hiding. He was a six foot tall beanpole. There was no hiding Davey Jacobs.

“Extra, extra. Cute boy owes me his number.” Before Davey could say anything, Les answered curiously. 

“Why?” He asked, and Davey almost died of embarrassment. Jack laughed and leaned over to match Les’s height.

“Because I dropped mine when I first saw him.” Davey brows furrowed for a second. _That one didn’t even make sense? At least he’s trying._

This moment of confusion, unfortunately, gave Les the opportunity to talk. “You lost yours? Oh no! I can give you Davey’s, don’t worry. It’s (212) 34-” Davey clapped his hand over Les’s mouth and began to drag him away. Les fought for a moment before shrugging and giving up, shimmying out of his embrace and skipping ahead. Davey turned around and shot a sheepish smile at Jack, who grinned right back. 

&&&

It had been a bad day. Everyone was fed up with each other, Sarah had yelled at him twice, Les broke one of his favorite pens, and Esther had gotten so mad at him that she just pointed at the door and yelled ‘Go!’ So Davey went.

He walked in no particular direction, just angry and trying to blow off some steam. As he walked down the pavement, he carefully avoided any cracks and counted his steps. 1, 2, 3, 4… 

497\. Four hundred and ninety-seven steps until he was in front of the farmer’s market, where his subconscious had led him, and he knew the exact reason why. He hadn’t been back since the phone number incident with Les, and he was dying to see the boy again. He had made small appearances in Davey’s dreams often, and Davey couldn’t seem to get his face out of his head. So Davey ever-so-casually walked up to the newspaper stand and grabbed a _Times_. He saw the boy look at him for a long moment. Davey was itching to know what line the boy would drop today when the boy cleared his throat. He walked next to Davey and bumped shoulders with him, pointed at the headline on the Times. “Extra, extra. Cute guy agrees to dinner with charming man.” Davey laughed for the first time, a full, broad sound that made the boy’s face light up.

“Extra, extra. They’ll kiss after persistent guy walks cute one to his door.” Davey leaned over and pecked his cheek, leaving the boy grinning as big as could be. As he walked away, the boy called after him. 

“I’m Jack!” He said. 

“Davey!” He called over his shoulder.

**Author's Note:**

> les listens to newsies because who needs fourth walls???


End file.
